The Hunter
by squeekness
Summary: What happens when you cram nine people into a small space and leave them there for a while? Sooner or later someone's secret gets out. Part Five of my Kimble series.
1. Chapter 1

Summary : What happens when you cram nine people into a tiny space and leave them there for a while? Sooner or later, someone's secret gets out! Part five of my Kimble series. This is part five of my Kimble series, you will need to read the others before starting this. See my profile for details.

Notes : Rated M for language, violence and sexual situations.

AU but only because I chose to change a few things in my dear friends' histories for simplification, nothing drastic so please forgive. I wrote this for a friend who didn't read the comics so there is a bit of back history and explanation on who everyone is and what their powers are. I've been working on this story for years so I do ask that you don't use any of my non-Marvel universe characters without my permission. I love my Siskans as I do my children.

Still with me kids? Well for those of you who haven't given up on me yet, here some news. I did more than just write this story, I illustrated it and now, my good friend Diena has built a webpage for me so you guys can have a peek at the art if you like. It's only just gone up and right now it only has art for Taken but we're going to try and catch things up and hopefully keep the art up at the same pace as my story. Take a peek if you like, the link is: or go to my profile to click there.

Wyndsong, just how long is this story? Too long, I am beginning to wonder. I had waited so long to post this on fanfiction for two reasons -- 1) I thought some of my later parts would be too smutty, silly me. This would not be so after reading what others have posted. 2) It's long. You see, most of you guys post on this site what I would call 'one shots'. Individual stories that finish after just a few chapters. This monster I've written plays out more like an ongoing series. It has a series of story arcs. First you had the Clan where Kimble is introduced, now you have a second arc where all these poor souls are stuck on a ship for five days and we get to find out about Fallen and just who and what Kimble really is. Looking forward, there's Kimble at the Institute trying to fit in, then Kimble sneaks off and has a series of adventures, making his way through two other mutant factions. It's not all about just Kimble either -- Remy and Rogue have issues, Logan gets a girlfriend, Henry cures a virus, and Sabretooth discovers there was more to him than he thought. The X-men do a search and rescue for Kimble that has some twists, I present my version of Wolverine's Origins and do a brief walk through the Thieves' Guild. The whole gist of this twisted tale is that Kimble starts off broken and ends up more or less fixed, but it's a journey that takes longer than just a few days. (Clearly I've had waaaay too much time on my hands!) After the last set of reviews, I am sitting here a bit perplexed, wondering just how much of that – if any -- I should hack off to streamline this pig to move things along. I've had fun with it, but it's not my intent to put you all to sleep, either. I will have to give this some thought. I did edit this next post of some content, hope it's still okay. Sq.

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(One)

Day two

Remy couldn't sleep. Everything that was going on since they had been stranded was rolling around in his head and he wanted nothing more than some kind of distraction. He got up and wandered into the galley but no one else was there, they were off getting some well deserved rest. He felt nosey and poked around in the cupboards, checking out Fallen's supplies. He liked what he saw and started pulling out some jars of food. He was bored and figured he may as well cook something, he had always loved to cook and found it very relaxing, just what he was looking for.

He was pleasantly surprised when he also found a stash of packaged, salted meat. It was some kind of red meat, deer perhaps, sliced into steaks. He opened the package and sniffed at it. He couldn't tell what kind it was, but didn't really care. He took out a pan and plopped the steaks in. He next went through Fallen's dusty supply of spices and groaned when he saw how neglected they were. Jeez, these Clan folks just didn't know how to cook right, he thought to himself. He seasoned the hunks of meat the best he could with what he found and started them marinating in some wine he found nearby on the counter. The smell was already making his mouth water and he hadn't really even started yet. He drank from the bottle of wine (Chef's privilege) and started cutting up some vegetables.

The smell of food began to lure the others in one by one. Wolverine, Beast and Maylee sat at the table in eager anticipation, reminding Remy of the audiences he used to get back home. He loved the attention and couldn't stop himself from smiling just a little. Maylee was smiling, too. She happy to see someone else cook, it was usually her job.

Gambit worked with a contented grace. The only thing better than cooking was cooking for an appreciative crowd. He noticed Valentin and Joseph lurking in the doorway of the barracks.

"Dogs is 'ungry, boss," he said to Logan.

Logan leaned over on his bench, looking out the galley door across to the barracks. "Guess it'll be all right ta take 'em out so long as they're quiet," he said loudly enough for the Clansmen to hear.

Henry and Wolverine went out and brought the prisoners into the galley. Once more, the Clansmen were tied to the benches. Logan noticed that of the three men, Bruce was the only one who'd taken the time to shower while they'd been locked up. The others stank and Logan wondered how long before he would have to drag them in for a bath. Their hands were left free on their good behavior.

Bruce remained imprisoned with the others because it still wasn't clear which way his loyalties lay. Logan had said, "Keep him with the others and we'll straighten it all out when we get home," and no one had argued. If things dragged on for too long or if he got too harassed, they would take him out.

Gambit finished cooking and served the crowd. The Clan looked at the food with greedy eyes, Remy hadn't been the only one in need of a diversion and everything smelled so good. It wasn't a bad thing having somebody different cook, they now had something new to try.

Bruce dug in and being the most polite, smiled broadly. "This is really good!"

"Merci beaucoup. Glad you likin' it," Gambit replied with a bow, beaming now.

"Looks like you might be out of a job, May," Henry commented with a grin.

"Fine by me!" she replied. Cooking was not her favorite thing to do.

Logan looked up as Kimble came in next, Fallen in tow. Kimble was plainly still tired, but Fallen was worse. She walked like a zombie, hardly picking up her feet. Kimble had given her another shot and she was a little out of it. The Siskan sat her down on a bench and smiled up at the galley screen as Seth popped up from the control room. Seth waved at Fallen, but she was too doped out to notice him just yet.

Kimble went to the stove and looked over Remy's offerings with obvious interest. He smiled at the Cajun and put some of his cooked vegetables on a plate for Fallen. He sniffed at the meat, but knew Fallen wouldn't eat it. Too bad, it looked tasty.

Kimble was a full service hologram. He could eat and drink even though he wasn't real. The water he needed for the hologram components, but food was a luxury. Just the same, his whole existence was about pleasure and he loved to eat, to taste. Fallen had given him a few treats since she'd started restoring the hologram, but none of them smelled as wonderful as what he saw before him now. He moved away with some reluctance, he was here for her and not himself, and set the plate he'd made in front of Fallen. She picked up her fork and began to eat numbly without comment.

Remy had noticed Kimble's interest in the meat. "I seen you drinkin', mon ami. Can you eat, too?"

Kimble sat down at the table next to Fallen. "Yeah, I kin eats a little."

"Den try dis."

Gambit put a small piece of seasoned steak in a bowl and set it in front of him.

Kimble picked up the meat and slowly put it in his mouth, wanting to savor it. He shivered and moaned in ecstacy as the spices exploded on his tongue, the flavor of it a bright new experience. As nice as it was to smoke for real again, eating was better. He laughed and smiled up at Remy, thrilled by the taste and unable to hide it. He hadn't eaten anything like this in ages.

Gambit watched Kimble with amusement and laughed. "Dat good, huh?" He took Kimble's bowl and gave him another piece.

Logan watched Kimble without smiling. Kimble's childish reaction disgusted him. His biggest problem with Kimble was not that he wasn't organically alive, but that he had no emotional control. Just as he was quick to anger, so too, his reaction to a simple piece of meat seemed exaggerated. Not that Remy seemed to care, Logan could see. The thief was indulging him as if he was some kind of new toy. Maybe to Remy he was. Wolverine shook his head and turned away, not wanting to watch any more.

Fallen gradually became more aware of what was going on around her. She watched as Remy set the bowl back down in front of Kimble and then saw what was in it. Her eyes opened wide in horror and she covered her mouth with a trembling hand.

Henry saw her reaction and moved away from her a little on the bench, uncertain what it meant.

Valentin sat very still, watching her from across the table like a cat does a mouse before it pounces. His eyes betrayed the fact that he knew full well what her reaction meant and he was ready to see it played out.

Kimble was enjoying himself much too much to notice. He ate the steak, chewing slowly so he could maximize his pleasure of the flavor of it. He looked up at Fallen, his eyes full of delight. "Ya gots ta try this, baby doll. Maybe you just ain't found anaone what could cook right."

Fallen coughed loudly and vomited explosively, catching most of it in her hands.

Joseph pushed his bowl away, disgusted. "I'm done!"

"Hey!" Seth shouted, standing up in the control room. "What's going on?" He hated how helpless he was trapped in the system. The frustration was unbearable.

Fallen staggered away from the table and over to the sink, coughing and retching the whole way.

A shocked and frightened Kimble followed her. "You okay?" he asked in alarm.

Fallen didn't immediately answer and Kimble rubbed her back as she continued to vomit in the sink, frustrated that she was so slow to respond. He couldn't help her if he didn't know what was the matter. He glanced up at the screen to his brother, worried. Valentin was snickering now and Kimble had a feeling that more was going here than he realized.

Fallen turned the water on and began to wash her hands and face. She rinsed out her mouth and spat before rolling her eyes up at Kimble, her mouth twisted in a furious sneer.

"What's wrong?" Kimble asked her again. "What did I do?"

"How did we get meat on board? I didn't order any with the supplies!" she demanded.

Valentin spoke up. "I did. I changed the supply order before we left."

Fallen's eyes ripped into Kimble who squirmed under the heat. "And you guys okayed it?"

"We didn' have no choice. Technically yer his wife. Lucky's his ship now."

"Never!" she snarled viciously, charging Kimble.

He backed up, unafraid. He just wanted to give her some space so she would calm down. They'd fought so many times before this, he knew how to handle her. He would just let her vent and then he'd try to reason with her some more.

She continued to advance, growing more out of control. "Lucky is my ship! I built it! He's mine! **I** decide the supplies, not **him**!"

Valentin and Joseph laughed, enjoying the confrontation. It seems they'd gotten a little more entertainment than just a free meal. Unlike his compatriots, Bruce had paled and looked frightened. He clearly found nothing funny in this.

"This ain't about no supplies, is it?" Kimble said defensively, growing angry himself. He'd done his job as he always had, she was his Mistress and he obeyed her unquestionably. There was no reason he should believe he'd broken any orders. Something else was going on.

Maylee moved to say something, but Logan shook his head at her. "He wanted to be Second so badly. Let him handle it."

Fallen was spitting now, she was so enraged. "**I** am your **Mistress**! I am **First Captain** of this ship! I am in charge! **I** decide things here! You will do as I say! Do you understand me!" Furious beyond measure, she grabbed the pan of meat from the stove and flung it at him, wanting to make her point clear by any means at her disposal.

Kimble reacted quickly and knocked the pan away with his hands before it could hit him, but was splattered with it's contents. He growled in pain as he was burned and raised his fists, his own fury fast matching the pace of his hysterical Mistress.

Gambit was standing next to him and dove out of the way. His clothing gave him better protection than the Siskan hologram, the juices from the pan weren't hot enough to burn through his sleeves, but still warm enough to hurt. He wasn't too happy about being so close to Kimble's fists, either. He didn't know if Kimble would lash out at the nearest target.

"Now that was really fuckin' stupid," Kimble said, opening his fists in an effort to calm himself and wiped at his chin. His hands were trembling as he tried to control his traitorous wrath.

"Not as stupid as you forgetting who's in charge!" Fallen snapped, finalizing this, and snatched a whiskey bottle from the counter before stomping out in a huff.

Kimble stood up straight and shook with rage. He snarled an order at Seth in Siskan and Seth nodded, his fear obvious. The screen blacked out, he'd gone to follow Fallen.

Kimble was panting, trying to decide what to do. He'd clearly made a serious error but wasn't sure what it was. He knew Fallen didn't eat meat, but since she kept her secrets, he'd always thought it was a matter of preference. Obviously he'd been wrong. He closed his eyes and swallowed as the acid rose up his throat again. He wasn't used to all the pain and anger coming his way like this. He did not understand or deserve the treatment he'd just received. He and Fallen had fought before, but she never once had struck him physically like this, their arguments had been exclusively verbal. Scathing and explicit, to be sure. But never physical.

"Deep breaths, boy. Deep breaths," Logan advised, speaking from experience. He tossed Kimble a towel, eyeing him with distrust.

Valentin was still laughing, amused. "Looks like she's got you whipped pretty good, son."

"Sure you can handle her, freak?" Joseph added.

"Don't make him angry!" Bruce hissed. "You don't know what he'll do!"

Kimble ignored the Clansmen and started wiping off with the towel, calming down a little. "I kin handle her just fine. Been doin' it a long time already," he said after a moment.

"Not quite the same thing in the real world now, is it?" Valentin sneered, unafraid.

"Must be the Lightening making her crazy," Maylee interrupted. She was still upset over Kimble's decision and wanted him to know it.

Kimble shook his head in irritation, he couldn't believe she was actually going to bring that up again. Clearly she wasn't going to let it go, the little bitch. Like he really needed this right now. "No. This's sumpthin' else," he insisted impatiently, aggravated that he had to keep defending his decision.

"How do you know?" she challenged.

"'Cuz I know Fallen!"

"I know her, too."

"Not like me," Kimble snapped. "I'm with her all the time, yer not cuz a yer schoolin'. She's got sumpthin' on her mind she don't wanna talk about."

"Maybe you just don't want to admit you made a mistake."

Kimble flung the towel into the sink. He grabbed a piece of fruit and began to peel it quickly, angrily. Fallen would need to eat and he was going to follow her whether she wanted him to or not. He wasn't going to leave without making his point first, though. "I didn' make a mistake! I made the right decision!"

"For **her** or for **you**?" Maylee questioned, angry.

"What th' fuck is that suppozta mean!" Kimble snarled, furious again.

"Watch yer mouth!" Logan warned. He moved closer to the girl.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that you took all the files you needed to stay out." Maylee continued to accuse. She was emboldened by the presence of the X-men, she knew they would protect her from Kimble enough that she could speak her mind. "You made this happen on purpose and then you addicted her so you could keep her for yourself!"

Kimble froze and looked at her stunned. He knew she disliked him, but had no idea of the depth of her hate. "Are ya sayin' I deliberately made her try ta kill herself? That alla this is from me?" he asked still in shock from her words.

"I think you would do anything to stay out. You knew she was going to use the hologram for Seth so you did this to take it from him."

"Dat's some cold cold shit, chere," Gambit said softly. He didn't believe what she said was true.

Kimble swallowed the hard lump in his throat and tried to stay calm. He really didn't need this on top of what Fallen had dished out for him already. He grinned angrily and shook his head. "I know yer disappointed it wuz me an not Seth what got left out, but he woulda let her die. He wuzn't ever good enough ta do what needed ta be done. Yer young, but you ain't a child no more, baby doll."

"Don't you call me that!" she hissed.

Kimble grunted sarcastically. "Huh. Just think, ya got a whole life of disappointments in front of ya. This is yer first one. Boo fuckin' hoo, darlin'! Welcome to the real world. Life just sucks most of th' time. Ya cain't handle it? Too fuckin' bad! It only gits worse from here!" he said bitterly. "I don' know what I done ta make ya thinks so bad of me. Right now, I don' much care. I know what I done wuz right cuz Fallen's still alive. We're all still alive. You wanna be dead so damn bad, jump out the fuckin' airlock. I could give a shit less!" he snapped and walked out.

Maylee stood still for a moment and then burst into tears. He frightened her for reasons she couldn't explain. She only believed half of what she'd said, but couldn't stop herself from saying it. The truth was she was disappointed that Seth wasn't the one out here. She loved him best and knew Fallen was in love with him. Now Fallen and Seth were separated forever. It just wasn't right that Kimble was free and Seth was not, this whole thing was so unfair. She fled the galley, too embarrassed by her outburst to hear Remy as he called out and reached for her, and escaped down to the lower level. She went into the small lav and locked herself in so she could be alone.


	2. Chapter 2

(Two)

Kimble looked to see where Fallen had gone. He looked into the cage room and saw the door to her lav was shut. He tried to open it but it was locked. "Fallen, open the door!"

He got no response, but he could hear her moving around. He heard the clink of a glass jar and Seth pleading with her. Shit! He had admonished his Mistress not to use any of her funtime narcotics while on the Lightening and it sounded like she had wasted no time in disobeying that order. He needed to get in there now! "Fallen, let me in!"

No dice. He put down the piece of fruit he brought and leaned against the door. He knew he wouldn't be able to break in. He had to get inside before she did anything stupid. He remembered the last time he had to get by an immovable object -- Wolverine. He concentrated and pushed against the door, wishing as hard as he could to be on the other side. He felt a strange liquid sensation and then he was there, looking at her. He'd phased through the door. He stood for a moment, stunned that he had actually pulled it off, then saw what she was doing.

Fallen was sitting on the commode, naked now with her pants tossed off to the side. She was bent over her leg with a loaded syringe in a vein and was about to push the plunger. He'd seen this before all too many times, she always shot in her legs to hide the needle marks she had from using so much.

Seth was on the nearby viewing screen pleading with her to stop. He stopped talking abruptly, shocked silent when he saw what Kimble had done. He had no idea Kimble could pass through a locked door like that. Yes, Kimble had confessed to him about walking through Wolverine, but part of him didn't quite believe it had actually happened. Kimble had just proven him wrong and it left him breathless.

Kimble didn't notice the shock on Seth's face, he had only his disobedient Mistress in mind. He moved quickly, smacking the needle away and out of Fallen's hand. It hit the wall and broke from the force of his anger. Fallen shrieked, startled by his sudden appearance, she had locked the door on purpose to keep him out. "How did you get in here?"

"What the fuck do ya think yer doin'!" he snarled, angry.

"That's none of your business!"

"It's my business ta keep ya alive! I toldja ya cain't take that shit with the Lightnin'!"

"I'll do as I please!"

He gripped her arms and leaned in close to her face, boldly establishing some dominance while doing his best not to be cruel. He cared about her deeply, but had to make his point. He was doing this for her, he could only hope she would eventually see that. "No, you won't. This ain't just about you, Fallen. It's about alla us. These people're countin' on you. So am I."

"It's not fair!" she cried, sobbing.

"Lotsa things ain't fair, but they happen all the same," he replied sadly, wiping her cheeks. He really hated it when she cried, it ate right into him. He was an emotional creature and the pain and suffering of others had always bothered him. He wanted so much for this all to go away and he tried to express that by being gentle with her now. He kissed her forehead, lingering so she would know how much he loved her.

She knew it and surrendered, falling against him in her misery. "I feel terrible...I need a shot."

"No. Whatcha needs is ta eat."

Kimble left her long enough to retrieve the piece of fruit he'd left outside. He didn't show off by phasing again, that was just too freaky, he simply unlocked the door to get out. He sealed it back up after, not wanting them to be disturbed. Seth started to ask him about phasing through the door the first time but Kimble silenced him with a dark look.

Kimble grabbed a blanket from the floor and wrapped it around his Mistress, making sure she was comfortable. He sat on the floor and moved her between his legs so he could wrap his arms around her and keep her warm. He carefully sectioned the fruit and fed it to her a slice at a time like before. She took what he offered, chewing slowly without speaking. It was very warm and comfortable with him wrapped around her now and she was relaxed, calm once more.

"What setcha off, Fallen? Talk ta me. Talk ta us," Kimble insisted gently. He was calmer himself now and wanted only for her to talk and get rid of her pain.

She didn't answer, just leaned tighter into his embrace.

"You gots ta talk ta us, kiddo. Stop keepin' all that junk inside of ya. This is still me, still good ol' Kimble, ready ta listen. Ain't nuthin' you kin say that'll change what I think boutcha."

"Fallen, please..." Seth pleaded. He put his hands up to the screen where she could see. "Talk to us."

"I don't want to think about that place," she whispered, her voice low and miserable.

"What place, Fallen?" Seth wanted to know.

"The pens... The Dognan pens."

Seth nodded. He knew she had been in the pens, the same as the X-men and others that they had rescued, she had told him that much, but nothing else. She refused to talk about it or what she had done there to survive. She dreamed about it, though, he knew that well enough. She would have the same terrible nightmare over and over again. It came whenever she was especially stressed out or Valentin had been away too long. She'd lie still, twitching and dreaming, then wake suddenly, screaming in hysterical horror. Sometimes she'd even run around a little bit before she woke, breaking things, and bellow Dognan curses at monsters she thought were trying to eat her.

Seth, being the closest to her emotionally, usually was the one who comforted her. It was especially difficult for him because all he could do was watch her from a viewing screen and try to talk her down. One of his primary motivations for trying the hologram was so that he could give her better comfort. She settled down much more quickly when he was out and could physically hold her. His main trouble was that he was fearful of her terror and hysteria, the violence in her dreams disturbed him and made him tremble with fear. Sometimes he couldn't handle it and Kimble would come out in his place to offer their Mistress comfort.

Sometimes after she recovered from her spells, she'd go get high and not talk to them for a while. Seth hated those times most of all because she isolated herself away from them where she could not be reached or consoled. She was too far away from Seth then and he would weep until Kimble would come and offer him comfort as well. Kimble was the bridge between them all, the one that bound them all together.

When Fallen was finally sober, Seth would ask her about her nightmares, what they meant, but all she'd say was that the dream was about the pens. Any further attempts to goad her into confessing only led to arguments Seth had no will to entertain, and so the matter was never discussed as it should have been.

Now, today, Kimble was hoping that that might finally happen, "What do the pens gots ta do with what happened today?" Kimble asked softly, petting her in the hopes he could coax her to talk and free her heart from all of this pain.

Fallen didn't answer right away, but heaved a weary sigh and closed her eyes. Kimble couldn't hide his relief when at last she began to tell them what she'd been holding back for so long.


	3. Chapter 3

(Three)

Fallen had been born Sarah Xifaras, a small town girl in a small town life. She'd grown up well and lived a normal life, becoming no one special or different from anyone else. She found the perfect husband, had some perfect kids. They lived in a quaint New England coastal town, close to the ocean. She had the pink house with the picket fence, the whole nine yards. Life was good...until the Dognan came and ruined everything.

It started out small. Groups of people would turn up missing all over the world, mostly where large groups had gathered. The Dognan were kidnapping humans to be used as drones in a slave army. When the Dognan had created enough white slaves, they sicced them back on the world they had come from in a successful bid to take them over. The white slaves came with the Dognan soldiers and destroyed their own planet. The destruction had been swift and horrible, all signs of human civilization wiped out in a matter of weeks. With the human pests removed, the Dognan then moved in to feast on the planet's rich resources.

Sarah had been one of the last humans taken from the area where she lived. She had lasted long enough to see her whole family destroyed, a fate worse than death. She was captured along with some others who had been hiding out in a nearby forest. She bitterly fought the Dognan soldiers who took her, scratching and biting. They admired her spirit and had her tested for Ristle capability. She came up positive and they had her processed.

It was horrible. She spent days in a stasis tank, awake just enough to realize with horror what was being done to her. Her body was ripped apart by surgeons who knew no mercy. Her legs and forearms were replaced with organic pilot body parts, changing her forever. There were no words to describe the pain. Still, her will to survive kept her alive. They cut into her brain and implanted microscopic computer chips and parts that allowed her to create the Ristle energy from her own body. They also implanted her with files on piloting ships, ship construction, salvage, and medicine. Her mutated body tolerated the harsh treatment and she became what they made of her.

While she was being processed, Sarah dreamed in the tank. She dreamed of the X-men legends she read about before the war and fantasized that they would come to help her. She recalled a story that had been told of the X-man Angel and how in an alternate time line he'd become an evil twisted creature called The Fallen. He had pale white skin and the sheer leathery wings of a bat, not all that different that what she was now. She now saw herself as him and took his name for herself, changing her identity now that her old life was lost. Sarah was gone, now there was only Fallen.

Fallen survived her ordeal and was put into service. She took very well to flying the Dognan ships but not so well to the harsh treatment of her new Masters. She often fought and rebelled, turning her new gifts against her Masters by zapping them with Ristle or scratching them with her new clawed hands. She was beaten and whipped repeatedly for her transgressions, but it did little to tame her. She was transferred from place to place, learning new things about her body as she was moved from place to place and made to do different jobs.

She mastered the skill of telekinetic flight and shield making while stationed out in the battlefields. Her job there was to go out and retrieve the wounded or dead flying out in the middle of battles that would have shaken the nerves of any man. Her new Masters didn't care if she got shot down, she was so unruly, but she never did. She could dip and weave with the best of them.

She hated herself and what she'd become, the loss of her humanity a bitter, blazing scar on her soul. It made her fearless and reckless and she flew bravely out into the worst battlefields and firefight, careless of her own personal safety. She would lift and carry groups of soldiers, secret messages, anything they wanted. Using her telekinesis, she was the perfect mule. She could even air lift heavy ordinance and equipment as long as it was strapped to her body. Her telekinesis was more powerful with things she touched. Having finally proved herself, the Dognan put her back into a ship. She took her skills and applied them. She was a skilled and worthy pilot.

Problem was, she was still feisty and at times uncooperative. Her Ristle was very strong, higher than normal. She learned quickly that it could do more than power up ships. It could be used as a weapon. Her temper got the best of her one day and she fired off a good sized Ristle blast at a Dognan officer who had attempted to rape her. The practice was common among Dognan men, they saw pilots as creatures to be used any way they saw fit. The man had no chance against her wrath, he was incinerated almost immediately. She had no idea she could do that kind of damage.

It didn't go over well with the Dognan either. Finally done with her, they cuffed and collared her and off to the pens she went.

Fallen was horrified in her new environment. She was sorry she had murdered the Dognan officer, but it was too late to take it back. She tried to hide in the bombed out buildings as much as possible, but her food didn't last. When she tried to forage, she was attacked by the packs. She used Ristle blasts and telekinetic shields to protect herself, killing those who threatened her. As she became more and more desperate, more and more hungry, the charred and cooked bodies of her victims became that much more appealing.

It wasn't long before she took the final, inevitable step towards cannibalism. She had the advantage over most of the prisoners here, her telekinetic and Ristle production capabilities giving her the clear edge in any fight, even against multiple targets. She became merciful death, ending the prolonged suffering of the weak that ended up in the pens. She hunted the packs, dive bombing them from on high, grabbing whomever fell into her path.

What made matters worse, was that as time went on, she found she enjoyed the hunt. Considering herself damned, she gave into it, embracing her darker self, and went all the way over the edge. She no longer selected her prey at random, no, she chose who she wanted to kill and how. She toyed with them, improving her hunting and telekinetic skills all the time. As her skills grew, so did her power. She used her Ristle all of the time, firing blast after blast at her prey. She realized now what her Masters had before, that she was stronger than most of the other pilots who'd been made, her Ristle strong enough to incinerate. This power and her ability to control it made her the Queen of the pens. She nicknamed herself the Hunter, proud of what she'd accomplished. She no longer foraged at all, but lived exclusively off of her kills. She grew sleek and fat, living quite well.

She thrived now in this new environment with no Dognan masters holding her down. But she was still human enough to grow lonely as time went on. She began to hang out near the main gate to the pens and kept watch as the occasional pilot was tossed in with the rest of the slaves. She would fly in and try to make them join up with her. She met with no success until Carma. Carma was a true sister to Fallen. She embraced the life and together they were merciless, the scourge of all who entered the pens. They killed often and ate well. Gradually others joined them and they became the Angels of the Fallen.

Meanwhile, the Clan was gearing up in their resistance efforts against the Dognan. Cerebus knew he needed pilots and ships to do this. He led raiding parties into the pens and tried to capture as many of the pilots as he could. He avoided the Angels because of their violence and savagery, but soon he had his eye on Fallen when he saw how powerful she was. Here was a pilot strong enough to jump, to cross dimensions. He had to have her. He set up traps but she and Carma were much too clever. Finally, Cerebus resorted to shooting her down with arrows treated with sedatives. It was crude, but got the job done. She fell and Carma was left behind.

When Fallen awoke, she was tied up and collared with restraints, her Ristle power robbed from her. The Clan knew the restraining devices used by the Dognan for the alphas worked just as well on the pilots and were sure to keep some around for times like these. Fallen was in the hanger of Clan Station Nine and helpless against her rescuers. She howled with rage and fury as Cerebus and his son, Jaska, stood over her laughing. They untied her carefully, waiting to see if she would calm down once she was freed and listen to their proposal of service. Almost all of the pilots they'd taken so far were eager to work for the Clan and exact some revenge against the Dognan who had mutated them so horribly.

Enraged by their lack of compassion, Fallen wasn't interested in talking. She came at Jaska with her clawed hands out and savaged his face, scarring him forever. She dove in to finish the job, but was grabbed from behind and wrestled to the floor by two more of Cerebus' men.

"Kill her!" Cerebus ordered, outraged by the damage done to his son. He had no idea she would be so savage, it had never happened before.

"Wait!"

Cerebus turned to see who had spoken. It was Valentin, one of his up and coming young officers. "Yes?"

The man's eyes were full of interest of this newly freed creature. He wanted her for himself. "Why waste such a fine pilot? I can tame her for you."

Cerebus laughed contemptuously. "You are welcome to try."

"If I can, may I have her? I have need of a good pilot for my reconnaissance missions."

"Be my guest."

Valentin walked up to her as she was once more released and they squared off against each other. She hissed at him like a cat, but he wasn't afraid of her mouth or her claws. He was quite tall and sturdy, quick on his feet and more than a match for her. "Come, pretty, lay down your hate and come with me," he whispered softly.

She spat in his face, hitting him square in the eye.

He swung and dealt her a heavy blow across her jaw, almost spinning her tiny body around. He was stunned that she didn't fall, it was rare that anyone could take a hit from him and not collapse in a dead drunk heap. This pilot just looked up at him as her blood began to flow and laughed crazily, her eyes wild with madness. He could see she was insane and he spoke to her again, gripping her with his voice. "Well, pilot, guess we know each other well enough then, huh? Guess what? You're in Hell and I am your Devil. You've given up your soul, now it's time to pay the price." He reached out and took her chin in his hand, fixing her with his penetrating, withering gaze. "You will be mine. You know this now. Accept it." He leaned in and kissed her, slipping her his tongue.

Fallen was mesmerized, her tiny mind reeling. In her deluded state, his comments about her being in Hell and his owning her soul made perfect sense. She had done such horrible things and now she had to pay. Pay in full. She accepted his kiss and gave herself to him, giving in to fate. Cerebus didn't quite know what to say as Valentin led her off, docile as a lamb.

Of course, Fallen didn't tame as easily as all that. She did have her moments and Valentin dealt with them in his usual harsh manner. He beat her senseless more than once and eventually she did get the message. The incidents of her violence became less often. Fallen returned gradually to a more civilized frame of mind, her feral Hunter moving into the past. The horror of what she'd done to survive still tormented her. She refused to eat meat and couldn't stand to be around anyone else eating it. It made her violently ill, destroying her appetite. Valentin knew this and would sometimes use it to beat her spirit down. Forcing her to eat meat was the height of his cruelty.

Fallen did have her highs and lows and succumbed to drug use in an attempt to blot out her darkest thoughts. The Clan often raided Dognan storehouses and narcotics were easily available to someone in the know. She dreamed of the pens but in her nightmares, instead of being the predator, she was always the prey. Night after night she would wake screaming as the ghosts of her past came and hunted her down. Valentin tried to comfort her, but he couldn't play the role of Master and Mother at the same time, she wouldn't have it. She wanted only one thing from him; his fists and as hard as possible. She would be good for a long time, then deliberately bait him until he was in a fury. She needed him to punish her. She wouldn't allow herself to forget what she'd done. She never let Valentin into her cold dead heart, not the way he would have liked. He went along with her because he had fallen in love with her in his own twisted way and took what he could get from her.

Valentin compensated for not being allowed to show her any tenderness by bringing her Maylee.

It wasn't long after the Red Sky had crashed. The Red Sky was one of the few working Clan ships and required a pilot to fly it. The Red Sky had been shot down by a Dognan patrol while running a recon mission for Valentin. Fallen was at the helm and the blast from the Dognan ship caused her Ristle to overload the stick and it back washed into her, damaging her brain. When Valentin brought her in to the medics, she was barely alive.

The Clan doctors didn't know what to do for her strange injury until she told them of the White Lightening. They didn't know if it would work but she was dying anyway. They had some of it around from raiding Dognan storehouses, but never knew of it's purpose. They gave it to her, addicting her while saving her life. She recovered from her injury but suffered from even more severe mood swings. On a particularly low day, Valentin brought her a present.

Maylee was a tiny child, no more than six. She was the offspring of a Dognan officer who had raped a white slave. Maylee's mother escaped to the Clan but was horrified by the monster she'd given birth to and killed herself. Maylee was moved around from place to place, never being accepted. She'd tried to steal some food from Valentin one day and he caught her. At first he was just going to kill her for annoying him so, but then thought better of it. Fallen never seemed to get pregnant no matter how attentive he was so he figured Maylee might be a good enough substitute. A child might raise Fallen's spirits, he reasoned.

Valentin had no way of knowing that Fallen had already been compelled to abort herself of his offspring three times by then already. She used harsh chemical potions that ravaged her body and almost killed her. She accepted this as part of her punishment. He was puzzled by her illnesses because she never really got sick any other time. He wasn't always around and she always seemed to recover from her 'spells' so he didn't question her about it.

Fallen embraced Maylee and having the child did lift her spirits. They both thrived from each other's love and Fallen started to feel a little better about herself. Maybe she wasn't really this terrible monster after all.

Fallen got better rapidly, but was still addicted. Having her self esteem boosted gave her the strength to try and overcome her addiction to the White Lightening. It was a long and painful process, but she did manage to pull it off. Her low spells remained however. They were usually prompted by a sudden longing for the hunt again. Some part of her, the one she called the Hunter, still craved the power and blood. When the urges became very strong, she would send for Valentin and he would beat and rape it out of her. It was the only thing that worked. Until Seth came along that is.

It took some time for Seth to work his way into Fallen's heart, but eventually he did. He showed her that there was another way to redeem herself. It wasn't as easy as Valentin's beatings, which made it seem all the more right. Retrieving alphas from the pens was the way. Fallen became more and more independent of Valentin, even going so far as to achieve the rank of First Pilot. She left on her own missions now, and aided by Seth and Kimble, saved herself by pulling more flesh alive from the pens than she killed during her seven month stay there. The more they did it, the more she realized she was no longer a monster, she was just a lost soul who'd strayed a little off the path. Her Siskan pilots had propped her up and set her right.

Her Hunter spells came less and less but still occurred. She sent for Valentin less often. He didn't like it and felt neglected. Valentin vented his frustration by beating her more and more savagely at each visit. He would follow her, seek her out and it became a game to him. Fallen was trapped by the monster she had created. Valentin would not leave her and now had managed to talk Cerebus into marrying them.

It was the last straw. Fallen did have some sense of Honor. Rather than break her bonding, she chose instead to give up everything and kill them all. It had cost her Seth and now she wasn't quite sure what to do about it. Her biggest fear was that she'd never hold Seth ever again. She needed him more than ever now that all this had happened. What was she going to do about Valentin now?

Kimble had nodded as Fallen had spoken, stroking her hair back ever so gently. He was an inorganic being, but that didn't mean he wouldn't understand something like this. " 'S okay, darlin'. You done what ya done ta survives. Ain't nobody gonner hold that against you."

"No, you don't get it. There's more. I wasn't just a cannibal, Kim. I liked it, don't you see? I liked the hunt. I liked hunting them down! I called myself the Hunter and made a game of it! It was the only thing that made me happy there!" she sobbed, curling up that much tighter. "I liked it! And when that wasn't enough, I taught others to do the same!"

Kimble closed his eyes, trying to equate his tender Mistress with someone who hunted down her penmates like prey. It was hard. To him she was soft and warm, strong willed and sturdy. He hadn't realized where that inner strength had come from, how being a survivor meant more than just having lived through something traumatic. Kimble understood a great many things about human behavior, but this was a little out of his range. What he could do was offer her comfort without his judgement. He was perfectly honest when he had said that there was nothing she could say to make him hate her, not even this could scratch a dent in the vast love he had for her.

He wasn't the only one. Seth was horrified by her tale as he would be by anything like it, but he still had this to say. "You did what you had to, Fallen. What I don't understand is why you thought you needed to be punished for it. The only one who needed to be punished here was Valentin for not helping you through this. How was him beating you ever supposed to make you better? All you had to do was forgive yourself."

"How can I?" she sobbed.

Seth just smiled. "You already have. Think back on all the lives we saved from the pens. It was dangerous to do it but you kept it up. Don't you see? You've saved so many, how could that not be enough to make up for what you did?"

Fallen looked up at Seth then. She was warm and safe in Kimble's arms, but it was the look of absolute love on Seth's face that finally convinced her that what he spoke was true. "I love you," she breathed. It was meant for them both, but it was Seth's eyes she saw as she said it.

"And I you, my Mistress," Seth replied, his eyes sad for her pain, but his mouth in a tender smile.

Fallen relaxed, crying just a little more, her agony finally released, and Kimble held her close until she was asleep. He then rose carefully and lay her gently on the floor. He opened a glass jar and gave her a mild sedative so she wouldn't dream that horrible nightmare again. He could see Seth trembling and shivering in the control room and spoke to him gently.

"Go to the Black Room. I'll be right there," he said, seeing that Fallen wasn't the only one who needed him.

Seth nodded, weak with tears, and disappeared.

Kimble stood over Fallen as she slept and wiped away an angry tear that dribbled down one cheek. She was his Mistress, his only reason for being, and he couldn't bear her suffering. The best he could hope for was that she would be better off having finally gotten all of this off of her chest. Maybe she could leave it all behind for good and be stronger. He sank down to the floor next to her and lay still, transferring his consciousness along the invisible link back into the system and to the Black Room.


	4. Chapter 4

(Four)

Kimble found his brother there in the Black Room, curled up in the middle of the circle of light, his hands cupped over his ears and his eyes clamped shut as he cried uncontrollably. Kimble stepped into the circle of light and went to him, putting his arms around him and speaking to him gently. "Seth? C'mon, buddy. It ain't all that bad. She's good now."

"How can I help her when I'm stuck in here!" Seth bawled. "I can't touch her or kiss her! She needs me and I can't get to her!"

"Easy, now. Calm down."

Kimble took Seth's hands away from his ears and pulled him up into his arms just as he did Fallen. When Seth broke down, Kimble always took care of him. He was his brother. The stronger taking care of the weak, it was what Kimble did best. Kimble most often expressed himself physically, he touched and he hugged to soothe the pain of others. He liked to kiss and reach out with his hands. Seth and Fallen both knew this and seemed to enjoy and need his closeness when they were troubled. He now brushed Seth's hair back until he felt him relax.

Seth cried himself out and snuggled down against him, burying his face against his chest. Kimble's embrace was comforting and familiar. When they had been locked in the system together, Kimble had often held him as he slept. In many ways, Kimble was more of a father to him than a brother.

"How am I going to help her?" Seth whispered in a dry scratchy voice.

"By doin' whatcha been doin'. Just keep lookin' after her sos she knows ya love her."

"It's not good enough..."

"S' gonna hafta be fer now." Kimble wiped the last of Seth's tears away. "When ya gots time, I wants ya ta take the password safeties offa the Black Room."

"Why? It keeps us safe."

"Jus' do it. If we git inta trouble you kin always put it back."

"All right."

"In the meantime, I kin take alla the meat and toss it inta Storage. The door's got a lock on it, it'll be all right. I won' let nuthin' happen ta her like what went on today."

"I'm never going to feel her again, am I?" Seth asked, a tremble still in his voice.

"Don' say that, kiddo," Kimble soothed. "Life's a funny thing. Never know how it's gonna turn out. Ya just gots ta have a little faith. I'm gonna try my best ta do fer you, 'kay?"

"Okay," Seth agreed, his doubt still there.

"Have I ever letcha down, kid? Huh?" Kimble teased gently.

Seth laughed softly. "No." He was growing drowsy from Kimble's warmth.

"You jus' rest easy, I'll stay witcha till yer asleep," Kimble promised, not quite ready to leave Seth just yet. He kept his word and held his twin until he was asleep, still and warm in his arms.

Kimble was a sensitive creature, in touch with the emotions of others. He understood Seth's frustration, he just wasn't sure what to do about it. He had an idea from when he had taken Fallen here to the Black Room briefly before, something that could be formulated into a plan if he was clever enough. Maybe he could bring her again and with the password gone, perhaps she could remain here longer than just a few seconds.

Kimble closed his eyes and held Seth close to him, wanting a little comfort himself. This day wasn't turning out so well after all. In here with no one to see, Kimble could let his guard down. He trembled as he started to cry. Being the caregiver was a difficult and painful job, one he chose to do on his own, but one that carried its own pains. He was frightened by Fallen's story and stung by Maylee's accusations. He knew deep in his heart that he wasn't bad or evil like she'd said. Valentin was. This place was. Fallen's story made him remember that it wasn't always safe out in the real world and now he was there again. He didn't know if he could in fact be killed out here and wasn't in an all fired rush to find out. How was he going to protect his people — Seth and Fallen and May — from everything that was going on, from Valentin? He was the Second, he was Kimble and it was his job to look after them. He would do whatever it took, sacrificing everything else to do it.


	5. Chapter 5

(Five)

Gambit scrubbed the floor of the galley, feeling horrible about what happened. He had no idea what was going on, only that he had fucked up royally and poor Kimble had taken the fall for it. He wished he knew what was going on. He could hear Logan trying fruitlessly to worm the truth out of Valentin. He'd been at it for over an hour now and had nothing to show for it. Valentin was giving up nothing, enjoying the game too much.

Gambit stood stiffly and tossed his towel into the sink. He grabbed a cigarette from the table jar and lit it. He was trying to calm down himself. He was even more concerned about Kimble after Maylee's horrible accusation. His concerns were justified when he saw Kimble return with a large box. The pilot looked terrible, he had a haunted sad look in his eyes as he opened the cupboards and started tossing Valentin's stash of meat into the box.

Remy stood next to him, quick to apologize. "Je suis de'sole, mon ami. I 'ad no idea."

"Yeah, well neither did I," Kimble said gently, forgiving him with a tired smile. Remy's simple regret made Kimble feel all the more kind towards his new friend, it was a buffer towards Logan's harsher treatment of him. "That girl keeps her secrets. I been with her alla this time an she didn' tell me nuthin' till just now."

"Told you about the pens, did she?" Valentin's cruel voice rasped.

Kimble whirled, all too ready to vent his rage and frustration. "You knew! And ya brought this shit on board anaways!"

Logan saw Kimble's meager control already slipping away and moved in next to him. He locked eyes with Remy, daring him to stop him from keeping Kimble down.

Remy didn't argue, instead he stepped in between Kimble and Valentin, trying to block their view of one another. He did nothing more, hoping that Kimble or Valentin would say what was going on. He had no problem with them arguing as long as they didn't start fighting. He also hoped his presence would help Kimble remember his promise to be good.

"Of course I know," Valentin sneered. "I know everything about her, boy. Deep down inside she needs me. She wants me to give her what she needs. Something you'll never be capable of doing. You think the Hunter can be stopped with your silly kisses and stupid little songs? Please! I'm the only thing that ever kept her in control." He raised a large heavy fist. "See this? This is all she truly understands and needs, not your pathetic, soft, white brother."

Wolverine struggled to process what he was hearing. He looked at the packages of meat and then he remembered what he saw from his brief stay in the Dognan pen. The packs were hunting down the weak and eating them. He pondered Fallen's unspeakable crime, the one she allowed Valentin to punish her for. It came to him suddenly. Fallen had been just like Shayla, the pilot that had gone in with them and was taken in by the Angels. _Or worse,_ he said to himself, thinking of how strong Fallen's spirit was. _Carma, the leader. _A woman who was not only a cannibal herself, but the leader of a pack of them might have a few issues. He cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier.

Kimble was beyond all that. He thought of Fallen's suffering at the hands of the monster before him and how it was ripping Seth apart. His rage spilled over and he lost control with frightening speed. So much for being good. He saw Valentin's raised fist, heard his cruel laughter, and forgot everything else.

"You asshole!" Kimble howled fearlessly and lunged for Valentin, his hands out like claws.

Logan caught Kimble as he flew by and held him back, once more using his superior weight to keep the Siskan in check. "Calm down!"

At their racket, Valentin began to howl like a rabid dog on purpose, raising a ruckus and adding to the chaos. He pulled against the ropes, but they held him this time. He was laughing like a madman, enjoying himself as he watched Kimble lose control.

Henry wasn't about to stand for it.. He stood behind Valentin and put his big blue hands on the big man's shoulders. He wasn't about to let Valentin break free like before. "Get Kimble out of here!" he ordered to Logan.

Before Wolverine could respond, Gambit weaved in between Kimble and Valentin, still trying to block Kimble's view of his antagonist. He knew Logan was stronger than he was and better able to hold the enraged pilot back. He charged a card with his bio-kinetic energy, hoping to catch Kimble's attention with it like before. " 'Ey!" he shouted sharply and held the card right up to Kimble's face.

Like before, Kimble's eyes locked onto the red glow. He didn't freeze, but Gambit clearly had his attention.

"Paisible maintant, cher. Easy now," Remy said slowly, working Kimble with his voice just as he had with the card. "Take it down, nice and easy. Soft, soft, now. Easy like. We gonna talk 'bout dis civilized and work it out, bien? You trustin' Gambit now?"

Kimble nodded, slowing down. He was easily mesmerized by Remy's kind eyes and gentle tone of voice. It appealed to his inner desire to please and Remy was asking him so nicely, it was hard to refuse.

Logan didn't quite buy it and wouldn't let him go, but Remy didn't hesitate to continue. "Talk to me, Kim. Tell Gambit what's goin' on."

Kimble took a deep shuddering breath and relaxed. He went slack against Logan and didn't fight him anymore. His anger was temporarily on hold as he listened to Gambit's easy words. He answered Remy's question in a tired, scratchy voice. "Vally knows her pain an' he don' care. He thinks her sufferin' is some kinda joke — Well, it ain't no joke ta me!" Kimble squirmed a little as he started to grow angry again.

"Shhh...Easy now. Relax. What's 'er pain? Tell me."

Logan waited for Valentin to cut in, but he had quieted and was watching Kimble as intently as everyone else. Kimble was putting on quite the entertaining little show.

"She wuz the Hunter in the pens. Huntin' and killin' ta stay alive. A cannibal. Three years I been watchin' her suffer cuz of it. An fer what! Fer sumpthin' she didn' have no control over!" Kimble raised his voice as angry tears spilled down his cheeks. "He coulda helped her, made her see that she didn't need no punishin' fer it, but NO! He had ta keep beatin' her down! You thought that last time wuz bad, huh? You weren't there when he broke her fuckin' jaw an' me an May had ta feed her cuz she couldn't fuckin' eat on her own! Or the time before that when he took that big ass fuckin' pipe wrench to her legs! You weren't there! You don' hear her screamin' evra time he lays down with her or hafta listen ta her heavin' her fuckin' guts out killin' his children! I wuz there! Me! It's always me fuckin' cleanin' up after!"

Logan held Kimble firmly as Gambit charged another card, Kimble was getting himself all worked up again. Remy was horrified by what Kimble had just let slip, here was the answer to his unspoken question about who's crime might be worse, his or Fallen's. Just the same, he passed no judgment. He gave his all to Kimble now, coaxing him back down with his soothing Cajun drawl. "Easy, easy now. Paisible, paisible, fils. We all done wit that now, ey? We gonna look after 'er. She okay now."

"I never did anything she didn't want me to," Valentin said evenly, looking up into Kimble's red, tear streaked face. "She could have run — jumped —anywhere, but she stayed. Why? Because deep down inside she knows she needs me. She doesn't want anyone else."

Kimble snorted with indignant rage. "She tried ta kill ya, Vally. What do ya know 'bout that, huh? Seems ya don't know her so well as ya think!"

Valentin shrugged. "Fallen is a little confused on account of that little faggot boy you call your brother. I'll take care of him soon enough, that's a promise. Once he's gone, she'll see the error of her ways."

Valentin's words had the desired effect. Kimble went off with a bang. He screamed a scathing torrent of mangled profanity and heaved against Logan again. No bright glowing cards were going to control him now. "You even think 'bout touchin' Seth, I'll kill ya! I'll rip yer fuckin' guts out!" he bellowed. "Motherfucker!"

Bruce covered his ears and tried to squirm away from Valentin on the bench. He was terrified of the enraged Siskan and wanted to be as far away from Kimble's intended target as possible. He leaned into Joseph who shoved him back with a impatient growl.

Henry had seen enough. The last thing he wanted was a brawl on the bench as well. "That's enough! Get Kimble out of here!" he repeated.

Logan obeyed and hauled Kimble towards the door. Kimble resisted, digging his toe claws into the floor, but Logan kept him moving. Logan hoped that Kimble was too out of control to try phasing through him again, if he did, Logan had no way of stopping him. Kimble remained solid throughout his rant and Wolverine gave him a mighty shove, tossing him back out into the Main Room. "You just calm yer ass down! We're all done with yer stupid crap! Can't ya see he's playin' you!"

Gambit followed Logan out of the galley, determined not to let the fight continue on out here.

Kimble moved away from Logan's hurtful words, staggering to the cage. He was getting overloaded again from all the violence. The horror of the story Fallen had told him and his rage towards Valentin was ripping him apart. His head was filled with violent thoughts. He wanted to kill Valentin. He wanted to take that big shiny sword of his and cram it right up that monster's ass. His belly clenched as his stomach threatened to heave and he bent over with the pain. He rubbed his hands against his stomach and for the first time he longed for the security of the hologram restraints. He felt so trapped here, like he couldn't get out. He wanted nothing more than to be reintegrated with the computer. It was easier then, caught in that two dimensional world. He couldn't interact physically and didn't have to worry about the consequences of his actions. The violence and hatred of this world had never been turned on him personally there. He'd felt no pain, no exhaustion. No real love either, he reminded himself thinking of Fallen's calm white face and her warm and gentle touch. He had to keep focused. He had to help her get through this. He had to keep her safe. He chanted the Siskan phrase Fallen used with Seth softly to himself as he rubbed his hands over himself, calming down from his own touch.

Wolverine watched him recovering, waiting to see if he was going to stand down or explode.

After a moment Kimble turned to him. His eyes were bloodshot and tired. He started to cry a little more and self consciously wiped the tears away quickly. "Ya don' understand. Ya don' know what happened ta her," he said as a way of explaining his actions.

"Yeah, I do," Logan said quietly. "I was in the pens and I saw what happened there. I saw Carma and I know what she did. I just didn't put it all together with Fallen until now."

"It wuzn't her fault!" Kimble said, his voice so terribly sad. "She didn' mean ta kill nobody. She ain't the Hunter no more. He don' need ta keep beatin' her down. He's killin' her a piece at a time. Her an' Seth both."

"Easy, Kim," Gambit said, trying to soothe him. Again, he was impressed at the depth of Kimble's concern for his family. He didn't think the emotions Kimble was displaying were false. He remembered the playful happy Kimble that had danced so skillfully and was laughing and playing around with such happiness. It bothered Gambit to see the same Kimble so miserable and angry. "It ain't gonna happen no more, d'accorde? We gonna take care of it, je promets. When we get outta dis, we're goin' to a place where he won't be able to touch 'er ever again."

Logan nodded, trying to hold on to Remy's optimism about their chances. "I know it ain't always been easy for you, but the Cajun's right. We got this one, all right? You gotta calm down, boy, and get yer shit together," he said, trying to sound comforting. "Get some sleep, whatever it takes. Ya look like shit. Yer fuckin' wasted. I understand we have to wait for Fallen ta heal, but how are you gonna look after her when ya can't even keep it together out here?"

Kimble nodded and started to walk away. He paused and looked back, flexing his big arm muscles in an unspoken threat. "I'm tellin' ya now, I loves her. I loves her an Seth an' May no matter what the kid thinks a me. I won' let him hurt any of one of thems, ya hear me? He ain't touchin' a one of 'em ever again. I'll do whatever it takes. I swears it!"

"You won't have to," Logan growled, more as a warning than words of comfort. "Nuthin's gonna happen."

Kimble moved away, unbelieving, and returned to Fallen's lav and his Mistress.


	6. Chapter 6

(Six)

Logan watched Kimble go and then walked back into the galley. Valentin and Joseph were laughing to themselves. If they weren't going to break free, the least they could do is have a few laughs. Bruce sat in between them, leaning forward with his face in his hands, trembling as he found no humor in any of this. Logan wondered why Bruce should be so afraid. He knew of Bruce's suspicions, but there was no way to prove that Kimble was this Zander fellow, not right now anyhow.

Logan went to the cupboards and finished putting the meat in the box, seeing the wisdom of removing it and completing Kimble's task. He certainly hoped they wouldn't be stuck here for days on end. He wasn't sure who was going to go crazy first, Kimble or himself from being cooped up in this tin can with all of this madness. He kicked the box to one side and rubbed his eyes. All of this tension was giving him a headache.

"You gonna cry, too, pup?" Valentin sneered.

Wolverine's rage bloomed like a silent bomb. He turned without a sound and smashed his fist into Valentin's face. He had reacted so unexpectedly and so quickly, Valentin never had a chance to dodge the blow.

Bruce was sitting next to Valentin and was splattered as Valentin's nose exploded with blood and shattered bone. Bruce screamed at the sight of it, his voice a high hysterical shriek. He cowered as Logan next stood over Valentin, his face full of hate and rage.

Logan shoved Valentin's head down onto the table. The force of it snapped the strap on Valentin's arm sling, adding to his helplessness. Valentin slid his splinted arm across the table for balance, but Logan wasn't done yet. He leaned in real close to Valentin's face, baring his teeth. "Let's get somethin' straight, you an' me. We need both Fallen an' Kimble ta get outta this mess an' I ain't about ta let ya screw this up. Whatever respect I mighta had fer you is long gone. Yer three claws away from bein' a bloody smear on this table. You readin' me?"

"You don't frighten me, little man!" Valentin growled fearlessly from his awkward position.

Logan popped his claws out real close. Valentin couldn't help but twitch in fear this time. He'd seen Wolverine use those claws and knew just how deadly they were. He shivered as he heard Logan's dry growl in his ear. "Maybe I didn't make my self clear. One more freakout on account of you and yer spendin' the rest of this trip in yer little room over there. In pieces if it comes ta that. You gettin' me now?"

"Fuck you!" Valentin replied with a sneer, still unwilling to give an inch.

Logan grabbed Valentin's hair, raising his head not to free him, but to slam Valentin's head back down against the metal table with a quick snap, stunning him. Valentin lay still then, wheezing out blood and spit with every unconscious breath. "Anyone else?" Logan snarled, looking at the others.

Bruce shrank away, covering his face.

Joseph glared at Wolverine, as defiant as his Master. "I'll kill you for that!"

Gambit came to the table, stepping up on the bench with one foot. He put the fingertips of his right hand on the metal table and looked deeply into Joe's face, his demonic red on black eyes glittering with playful malice. Joseph jumped a little when he felt a sizzling shock as the red eyed mutant gave the table a little charge of bio-kinetic energy. "Oui? You feel dat? Gambit can do dis to anyt'ing, not just 'is fancy playin' cards, comprenez? Don' t'ink you wanna see what 'e can do to your face." Gambit would never use his power directly on anyone, but Joseph didn't need to know that. "You gonna go quietly now, or is Gambit gonna 'ave 'imself a little down home barbecue?"

Joseph said nothing, but put his head down submissively.

"Bien. I t'ink we done 'ere now," Remy said, backing off.

"Let's go," Logan said, untying the men. He and Remy saw Joseph and Bruce back to the barracks while Henry looked Valentin over.

Valentin's nose was broken. He woke in a foggy daze but sat still as Henry next set the bone and taped him up. His eyes were already bruising from the abuse, adding to his already disheveled appearance. "I suggest you don't keep antagonizing Logan," the big blue doctor advised him. "I'm not sure how many more of your bones you want him to break."

Valentin said nothing in return and Henry led him away back to the barrack's room.

Henry made his delivery and looked over to the cage, seeing that Fallen's lav door was shut. Maylee had come up from her hiding spot below and was curled up on Fallen's bed asleep. Beast hoped Kimble was getting some sleep as well, they were all tired and irritable. This was going to be a long trip and already everyone's nerves were on edge. He prayed all the violence was behind them now. Considering the events so far, he doubted it.


	7. Chapter 7

(Seven)

When Kimble had returned to his Mistress he closed the door of her lav and locked it without thinking. He then stood over Fallen and looked down at her, assessing her condition. He saw that she was still comfortably asleep and went to her, needing her badly now. He scooped her back into his arms and held her close to him as if she'd disappear if he let her go. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her sweet smell, he covered himself with her blankets and felt her warmth and Ristle seep into him. It calmed him and he relaxed. He had to remember who he was doing this for, he reminded himself. He would be strong for her. He would be strong for all of them. He chanted the Siskan phrase of comfort to himself again and felt it's magic work on him. He settled down and slowly fell into an uneasy sleep.

He startled awake from another nightmare less than an hour later. His body was drenched in sweat and he was shaking. He was exhausted. He didn't get to sleep long, he'd only had three or four catnaps and with each attempt at sleep, Mirror Face reared his ugly head. He couldn't escape his own personal monster, the guy came on him every time he closed his eyes now. He stood shakily and took a cigarette from the jar on the vanity, deliberately avoiding looking at his reflection in the big mirror. Mirror Face had frightened any vanity he may have had right out of him.

If he wasn't going to sleep well, he figured, he was just better off not even trying. He looked down on Fallen, seeing she was still out cold from the sedative and would be so for a few more hours. He wasn't going to accomplish anything hanging around here, so he figured he might as well take a peek at the engines.

He walked out of the lav and found Maylee waiting on Fallen's bed. She was awake now and sitting there, impatient to see her foster mother. He didn't meet her eyes but said, "She's sleepin'. You should go in an' sit with her awhile 'case she wakes up an needs sumpthin'." He was trying to offer her a hand of peace, but she didn't accept.

"I don't need your permission," she said coldly, rising. "Next time, don't lock the door. You've got no right to keep me out!"

Kimble blanched, insulted and wounded all over again at her suggestion. "I wuzn't keepin' nobody out!"

"Then why was the door locked?" she challenged.

He didn't want to argue and gave in. "No reason. Sorry. I didn't mean nuthin' by it," he stammered lamely and left. He couldn't look at her, he was too afraid of his rising anger. He'd done enough damage in a day and half already and he didn't want to make things worse by saying something else he would regret.

Kimble passed by Gambit on guard duty without comment and went down to the lower level. He used his Command Override to open the Engine Room door and blocked the door so it would stay open. He didn't know what tools he might need and didn't want to have to keep using the override each time he went back and forth from the shop. He went over to Engine One and examined it with a well trained eye. He was correct when he told Henry he had detailed files, he could assess the damage quickly and see what needed to be done. So far, the engine didn't look unrecoverable, always a good sign. He could still smell the burnt rubber and hoped this wasn't going to be too bad. He looked over the main control panel, concentrating as he pulled up files from his maintenance files. He used the tech manuals there as instructions on how to pull the panel apart. He went to work and all his troubles slipped away as he immersed himself in the repairs.

Kimble wasn't aware of it when Beast walked in an hour or so later. He'd turned the music on and was so absorbed in what he was doing that a bomb could have gone off and he wouldn't have noticed. Henry paused behind him and watched. Kimble may have been a hologram and technically not real, but he had no trouble working with the machinery. He sat with his crooked cat legs under him in a large open area of floor. He had one of the larger components disassembled and the parts organized neatly spread out in front of him. He had some boxes of replacement pieces next to him and was rummaging around for the right part he wanted. He had a cigarette burning forgotten in a bowl on the other side of him and an open bottle of whiskey, requirements for this procedure, obviously. He had a monitor on that showed Fallen sleeping on the floor of her lav so he could keep an eye on her. His hands moved swift and sure as he reassembled one section of the component and Henry had no doubt that Kimble knew what he was doing. Just the same, he offered with hopeful politeness, "May I offer you some assistance?"

Kimble startled and almost dropped the hunk of engine in his hand.

Henry was shocked when Kimble looked back at him with eyes filled with rage. His lips had pulled back in an angry sneer, showing his sharp pointed teeth. It changed the whole look of Kimble's face, making him seem dangerous and out of control.

Henry took a step back warily, seeing for the first time what had Wolverine so much on edge. "Excuse me!" he stammered lamely.

Kimble saw who it was that had startled him and relaxed immediately. It wasn't Mirror Face as he had first thought, but good old Henry. He felt silly and smiled sheepishly, relaxing his face into something more normal. "Sorry. Guess I thought you wuz someone else. Didn' mean ta scares ya."

"That's supposed to be my line," Henry joked, still uneasy. "You need any help?"

Kimble grinned and was himself again. "Shure. C'mon over an' sit." He politely cleared a space for his guest and gestured for him to sit.

Beast sat beside him and looked over the parts. "This is some piece of work," he commented pleasantly.

"Gonna takes some time. She fried the bitch good."

Henry reached out and started to assemble a different section. He had read most of the book Fallen had given him on Siskan technology, but he didn't need it here. In an odd twist of fate, the Siskan mechanics were almost identical to the Shi'ar components he kept up back home. It was enough to make him wonder if the Siskans were themselves related to the Shi'ar, just in an alternate universe or dimension.

Dr. Henry McCoy was more than just a fine physician and surgeon, he was an intelligent blue giant who spent most of his time working on machinery such as this and on other experiments back home. He was highly skilled in all kinds of technology and never passed up an opportunity to learn more. In between boxes of Twinkies and reading piles of science journals on all subjects, he'd become quite knowledgeable and learned quickly. Gadgets and widgets were his thing. He was responsible for most of the specialized equipment back home and the X-men's personal fighter jet, the Blackbird. His fast thinking and skilled, nimble fingers had gotten the team out of more than one scrap. He wasn't the least bit intimidated about tackling the disassembled machinery Kimble had out in front of him. He recognized what he had in his hands not because he was told, but because he'd worked on so many different kinds of engines that it just came naturally to him.

Kimble watched him with curiosity and then grunted in amusement when he saw Henry didn't need any help. "Well, all right then." he said with a smile and went back to his own piece. "Tell me about yer place," he asked after a moment.

"My place?"

"Yeah. Yer house. What's it like?" He was just making conversation.

Beast grinned, more than willing to entertain his host with tales from home. "Well, it's quite large with a lot of rooms. It started off as a school for mutants --- alphas, I mean -- and it still is, but we also do a lot of outreach work and we shelter those who need it. We help out if there is trouble with other mutant groups getting a bit too rowdy for their own good. The grounds are quite large with some woods behind it. We have a lake close by where we go swimming sometimes. Of course, my favorite place is my lab. I was working on several experiments when I left. I suppose I shall have to start all over again when I get back."

"You gots lotsa that Shi'ar stuff? You know, like the Siskan stuff here?"

Henry looked at him curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno. I wuz thinkin' maybe when we git to yer place, you kin fix it so Seth kin come out."

Henry was a little surprised by his question, he hadn't really thought much about it. It pleased him, though, that Kimble had asked. It confirmed his own belief that Kimble did care for Seth and that Maylee's accusations were unfounded. "It depends. Seth had said you didn't have enough base material for another hologram. What do you require?" Kimble read off a list of basic elements, the liquid ingredients for his gel. Most of them Henry was familiar with and the doctor nodded thoughtfully. "I'm not sure I can acquire all that you need, but I would certainly like to give it a try. It would be worth it for the challenge."

"You'd like Seth," Kimble said quietly. "I bet he kin helps ya with yer experiments. He's got a better head fer that junk than I do. Gimmie a machine, I kin fix it with the right files. Maybe I kin figger it out on my own with enough time. That science crap jus' makes my head hurt," he said with a laugh.

Henry joined him. "It's not for everyone, true. I probably could use a good partner in the lab. He can learn from files as you do?"

"I don' see why not. He's got my memory, too. He's fast. He's real good with computers. He hacks inta the Dognan stuff alla time. I figger yer stuff can't be any harder. Prob'ly make a good spy if ya needed one."

"We can use people of all skills at the mansion," Henry tossed out as bait, hoping to encourage Kimble to believe he might fit in as well.

Kimble didn't bite, but changed subjects, talking about the work at hand instead. They worked together for a few hours and seemed to accomplish a lot. Kimble was quick and they worked well together. Henry frowned as he looked over some damaged circuit boards, they were singed and useless. "Are there replacements for these?"

Kimble glanced over his shoulder, checking out the serial numbers. "I dunno. Gots ta go check." He walked away, rubbing his eyes. He was really wasted now and trying to fight it, his disrupted sleep wearing him down. He went to one of Fallen's large storage racks and scanned the index labels. He paused at one rack, it was tall and had many drawers. He slid a drawer out at chest height and rummaged through it, his fingers moving carefully through the small boxes there. His head dipped a little as his eyes shut on him in exhaustion. He jerked awake a moment later and shook his head in a vain attempt to revive himself.

"You should get some rest," Henry commented from beside him.

Kimble hadn't seen him approach and he startled. "Ughh...Hey. I jus' wants ta gits this done," he said with a laugh, rubbing his eyes again.

"It can wait. It's not a good idea to do this kind of work unrested. You could make a mistake."

"I'll be fine."

Henry nodded and let him be. He walked back to their working area and saw Logan standing in the doorway. Wolverine was watching Kimble intently, a small scowl on his face. Beast had no idea how long he'd been there, it was spooky how Logan could sneak up on you. Henry smiled at him in greeting.

"'Bout time somethin' got done," Wolverine complained good naturedly, his scowl replaced with a small smile for Henry. Inwardly he was pleased. The sooner this was back together, the better.

Kimble looked up as he spoke but said nothing. He saw the way Logan was looking at him and didn't like it. It didn't escape him how Logan's expressions had changed, the smile was not for him. Kimble didn't see much in the way of Wolverine's reputed honor or caring coming his way, not so far. He scowled and went back to the drawer. His head hurt and now he was angry again. He wished now he'd left the door shut, he suddenly wanted to be alone. He couldn't find what he was looking for and the frustration made him even more angry. He closed his eyes and tried to relax and think. He concentrated and scanned his files for the inventory list. He never felt it when his mind shut off again and he fell asleep where he stood.

"Looks like yer boy's a little tired," Logan commented wryly.

Beast turned and saw Kimble sway unsteadily as he dozed. He laughed and went over to him. He slid the drawer shut and caught the pilot as he fell. He didn't quite wake up but mumbled a complaint Henry couldn't make out. Beast picked him up in his big arms, the doctor was very strong and managed Kimble's much lighter body easily. He carried him out to the workshop and lay him down on the bed. He covered him up and shut the lights off before returning to the Engine Room.

"He gonna make it, doc?" Logan asked, just making conversation.

"Who? Kimble? I think so, yes. Just the same, the sooner we get out of here the better. These components are very similar to what we have back home. I can help out quite a bit here."

Logan nodded and stood by quietly while Henry worked. These mechanics were too complicated for him to work on himself. He was the first to admit he was more of a tinkerer than a repairman. His area of expertise lay elsewhere. After a short while, Logan heard Kimble talking in his sleep. He left the room quietly and went into the shop. He didn't need the lights to see Kimble thrashing on the bed.


	8. Chapter 8

(Eight)

Kimble was lost. He had walked into the shop looking for something, but he couldn't remember what it was. He paused when he saw Fallen sitting on the shop bench, waiting for him. She was naked and beautiful to his eyes. She was also happy to see him, she spread her legs for him and held her hands out in invitation. "Come here, Kimble. Take my pain."

Kimble recognized those words, he'd heard them repeated just a few too many times now, each time he had dreamed Fallen had said them. Now that he knew he was dreaming again, Kimble was instantly filled with terror. "No!" he snarled and retreated instantly, not wanting any of what he got the last time. He was a quick boy and learned fast, so he did. If he could leave quickly, perhaps this wouldn't turn into the nightmare it always seemed to be. He stopped in his tracks when he bumped into someone behind him.

Of course it was his new personal monster, Mr. Mirror Face. Kimble was grabbed roughly and the shattered face leaned into him, the deep gravelly voice coming at him from that horrible distorted mouth. "Know what happens when it's all work an' no play, huh? Heh, heh, I do. But yer ass I do! Yer gonna looks real nice with a face like mine!"

"Nnnooo!" Kimble screamed and tore himself away. He tried to run down the hall to the stairs leading up and out the trap door but his feet became leaden and too heavy to move. It was one those stupid nightmare tricks, he was suddenly mired in invisible quicksand. He couldn't run fast enough and Mirror Face was right behind him.

"Help me!" Kimble shouted towards the upper level, but of course nobody came. He wasn't real, he was just a stupid worthless hologram and didn't matter in the true scheme of things. No one would care about him when he was gone. They all hated him anyway, each and every one. He began to sob wildly when he felt the hands grab him and turn him around. The knife came to his throat.

"You'll never be rid of me, boy. Dontcha know who I am?"

"Lemmie go! I'll be good, I swears!" Kimble bawled, all of his control gone.

"I'm Zander. I'm you!"

Kimble managed another twisted scream before his throat was cut.

---------------------

Logan stood over Kimble in the dark, listening to him whimper with fear. It frustrated him that Kimble had no scent. Logan used that as a tool to 'read' people and learn what they were hiding. Kimble's lack of odor denied him that and it bugged him. He did sense something different in the air around Kimble and held his hands out over the pilot's body. He could feel a low vibration tickling the hairs on his arms and he groaned inwardly. He knew what this was. Kimble was giving off very weak telekinetic waves, prompted by his terror probably. This whole situation on this ship was out of control, Kimble being a possible telekinetic just made things worse. What if he could fly or make shields? Telekinetics were very difficult for Wolverine to defend against.

He remembered how surprised Kimble was at his own ability to phase. Maybe he didn't know about this either. That was both good and bad. If he didn't know, he was untrained and could be outmaneuvered. The downside was that he probably wouldn't be able to control his power when he did find out. The possibilities for collateral damage were endless. Logan speculated that Kimble was weak now because Fallen was weak. When she recovered and her Ristle became more powerful, perhaps Kimble would be more powerful, too. Just one more item on today's bitch list.

Now more than ever, Logan believed Kimble was in fact Zander even if he didn't know it himself. Either way, Kimble was in trouble. The real question was, how much trouble was he in and how bad was it going to be for the rest of them? Logan didn't hate Kimble, not really, but he wouldn't hesitate to take him down if he tried to attack or kill anyone.

Logan took a step back when Kimble came violently awake with a strangled cry. Kimble was grabbing at his throat like he was choking. "I ain't no killer..." he gasped, not aware that he wasn't alone. "I ain't you!"

Logan pulled out a cigarette and lit it, illuminating his face. "You got a real big problem, boy," he said in his raspy growl.

"Fuck!" Kimble shrieked in fright and backed away against the wall, scrambling. He was disoriented and terrified, his chest was squeezed tight with panic and he couldn't breathe. He tried to calm himself and not give himself away. He felt nauseated and kept swallowing it down as he gasped for air. What was he going to do? How many more frights was it going to take before he popped a stitch for good?

"Obviously got somethin' on yer mind, boy. Ya wanna talk about it?" Logan offered calmly, pretending not to notice how he'd scared Kimble half to death.

"Shure, like yer the first guy I'd think of ta talk to," Kimble snapped irritably and pulled himself away from the wall. He reached across to the work bench and turned on one of the lamps. He looked terrible, his face was drawn and his eyes were red. He took a cigarette from a nearby glass jar and snapped to light it. "I kin handle it by myself, thanks."

It didn't escape Logan's notice how badly Kimble's hands were shaking. "I'm not sure you can. You ain't lookin' so good."

"It ain't yer problem." Kimble leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He didn't want Wolverine to know how frightened he'd been when he saw who'd been standing there. Kimble didn't differentiate much between Mirror Face and Wolverine, both men terrified him.

"Everything that happens on this ship is my problem, includin' you," Logan replied as he sat comfortably on one of the stools and crossed his arms.

Kimble opened his eyes and leveled his gaze on him. "I ain't nuthin fer you ta worry about. I been workin' on the engines, ain't you happy now?"

"Sure I'm happy. But I won't be forgetting about you until we get home. Until then I'll keepin' my eye on you. Somethin' still ain't right about you. Yer keepin' somethin' down. You want me not worry? Then spill it."

"Humph. Yeah, that'll happen." Kimble got to his feet and started to walk away.

Logan stood up in his way, looking him over with arrogant contempt. He was frustrated by what he saw as the pilot's lack of co-operation. "I'll get it out of ya, one way or another. We can do it nice or we can do it hard. I promise you, you don't wanna see how hard I can be."

"Leave him alone," Henry said from the hallway.

Logan turned to face him. "He's keepin' somethin'. I'll just bet we need ta know what it is."

"Your forms of persuasion don't seem to be working. Leave him alone." Henry repeated firmly. He looked at Kimble and could see how tired he was still. Something was definitely wrong, but Logan wasn't his first choice as therapist. "I'll talk with him."

Logan grunted and backed away, his eyes never leaving Kimble's face. "Best speak up, boy. You don' wanna be dealin' with me." He turned and walked off.

Kimble watched him leave, his face tense and angry. His stomach started to hurt again and he unconsciously began to rub his belly with a fist, trying to smooth away the ache there. "An' he worries 'bout me. Who's watchin' him?"

"Logan means well. He just isn't as good at expressing it as the rest of us. Sit, please. Relax." Henry said, guiding Kimble back to the bed. He had noticed Kimble's fist at work and couldn't help but wonder at it, why would a hologram feel pain? As far as he knew, Kimble had no organic parts, but here he was, imitating a human in distress and imitating it just a little too well. Beast guided him back down to the bed and took over Logan's stool. "Now, why don't you tell me why you're sleeping so poorly."

"I just ain't useta dreamin is all," Kimble lied smoothly, resting back against the wall again. "It's a little spooky."

"What are you dreaming about?"

"I dunno. Stuff. I don' really remember the dreams too good."

"Well, now. That is a classic example of evasion if I've ever heard it. You did that quite well. Why don't we try again? I am here to help you. It's clear you are under a strain and could use a kindly ear. You'll find I am quite a good listener. I've gotten good practice in my years as an X-man. I doubt you could surprise me with anything you have to say."

"It's tough bein' out," Kimble said after the obligatory dramatic pause. He figured if he handed Henry something, the man would leave him alone and call Logan off. "Evrathin's different now. I hafta think alla time 'bout evrathin I say, evrathin I do cuz now I kin hurts people an' they kin hurts me back. I ain't useta that. I'm thinkin' alla time 'bout how I'm fuckin' up evratime I open my mouth. Logan's all pissed at me. Maylee's all pissed at me. It sucks."

"Yes, well. We are all under stress right now. I would not concern yourself with Logan, he's like that with most new people he meets. But Maylee does worry me. Perhaps you should try talking with her. Tell her that you're sorry you were so short with her. I'll bet she'll understand."

"Doubt it. Me an' the kid, well...we ain't never got along so good. She likes Seth better'n me. Evraone likes Seth better'n me," Kimble ended softly, unable to hide a tone of bitterness.

"Are you jealous of him?"

Kimble shrugged in a classic evasion. "Not really. I don' wants ta be like him. I likes me. I wants ta be just me. It's jus' that the Kimble Fan Club is a little small, is all."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I like you just the way you are, too. But I think you should try to control your temper a bit more around Maylee. She seems to be a little frightened of you. I still believe you should try and talk to her. Letting these things go too long often times makes them worse."

Kimble considered his words. "All right. I'll give it a try."

Henry stood and patted Kimble's knee. "A good decision. Now, try to relax and get some rest." He walked away and returned to the Engine Room.


	9. Chapter 9

(Nine)

Kimble knew sleeping would be a waste of time so he got up and went upstairs, sneaking past Henry who had returned to the Engine Room. Gambit was still on guard duty in the Main Room, but had fallen asleep. He was out cold, still stretched across the front seats of the passenger section as before. Kimble looked down at the dozing thief and smiled. Kimble liked Henry well enough, but he liked Gambit all the more because Gambit seemed to accept him as he was. Coupled with Remy's sense of fun, Kimble's affection could only grow greater. Still, Kimble was envious of Remy's peaceful slumber and was loathe to wake him. He had considered talking to Remy before about his dreams, but wasn't sure if he should. Maybe his new friend would become afraid of him and Kimble didn't want that. He decided to wait and see if things would settle on their own.

He went to the cage room and peeked into Fallen's lav. Maylee was seated on the floor next to Fallen, gently petting her hair as she slept. "May? Kin I talks to ya?" he asked quietly, coming into the room. He left the door open deliberately, to show he wasn't trying to pull anything and to give her a way out so she wouldn't feel trapped with him.

She looked up him distrustfully just the same. "I suppose so."

He sat down against the wall, keeping a respectful distance between them. "I jus' wants ta 'pologize fer bein' so nasty b'fore. I wuz mad an' I shouldn't have said what I did."

"Saying you're sorry doesn't make it okay."

_This is going to be fun_, Kimble thought wryly. Still, he plowed on ahead. "No, it don't. Jus' the same, you gots no right ta 'cuze me of whatcha said neither. I wouldn't ever hurt Fallen, ya knows that."

"No, I don't know that. The way you talk to her sometimes makes me wonder. Seth doesn't do that. He's always nice to her."

"I knows I'm a little rough, but Fallen knows me. She knows that I kin be counted on fer sayin' what needs ta be said. Not evrathin' is nice an' pretty in this world. Yer big enough ta sees that now."

"You're a bully, Kimble. You always get your way. It should have been Seth out here. She loves him and now he's stuck in there with no way out. She's never going to be happy now." Maylee complained, her eyes growing shiny with tears.

"Listen, kid..." he soothed, automatically coming towards her in comfort. She jerked away from him in fear and he sat back, wounded by her lack of trust. "Ya don' hafta be afraids of me, kid. I knows ya don' like me much, but yer still family ta me an' ya always will be. I'm here ta looks after ya, keeps ya safe. Yous guys're all I got. I ain't about ta do sumpthin' ta lose any of ya."

"How can I believe you when all you do is yell and fight?"

Kimble sniffed and sat back down further away. "I know I ain't been doin' so well keepin' control, but I promise ya I'll try ta do better. As fer Seth, don' worry 'bout him. I'll just bet Henry's got some stuff at his place that'll git him out. Henry's real smart an' I know he'll help us. We just gots ta git there in one piece is all. Us fightin' ain't gonna help that."

"I don't think you can control yourself," she said quietly. "You've never been able to do it before and it's worse now. I see the way you look at Fallen. You don't want Seth to come out because you want her for yourself. You always get what you want one way or the other. I'm going to watch over her and make sure you don't do anything to her or Seth. I won't let you kill him!"

Kimble started to shake with hurt and rage. He couldn't believe what she had just said, he would never do anything to harm Seth and the accusation was more than he could stand.

"Git out!" he hissed, his eyes blazing.

"No." She sat back on her heels with her hands fisted.

All it did was enrage him further. "I said, git out!" he shouted, rising.

The sight of his fury was too much, she squeaked in fear and bolted out the exit Kimble had provided. Kimble glared at the door and it slammed shut and locked of its own accord. He'd used telekinesis to shut it and in his fury, didn't even realize it. He had felt a pinch as the door shut and then a sharp lance of pain shot right behind his eyes, making his head feel it was going to explode. He was in horrible pain now and enraged almost beyond the limits of his feeble control. He couldn't stop a whimper of mental agony from leaking out of his tightly clenched teeth. As his shaking grew worse, he at least realized he couldn't trust himself right now, he was more afraid of losing control than he was of this pain. In an attempt to calm himself down, he went back to the wall and sat in the corner next to the washing machine, his head turned into the center. He was trying to block out everything around him and so found the smallest space available and jammed his body in.

Seth immediately popped up on the screen, alerted by both Maylee's flight and Kimble's noise. "What's going on? What's wrong with Maylee? She's all upset."

Not a second later, Gambit pounded on the door. "Open up dis door, Kim! Maintenant! Now!"

Kimble covered his ears and scrunched into the corner even further. He was trembling badly now, and wanted only to hide. He wasn't sure what he would do right now if confronted. Maylee could have no idea how much she'd hurt him with her words. He was angry and exhausted. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to kill and rip and tear. His head was pounding and his stomach was burning from the rage. Everything in front of his eyes was red. He spread his wings and covered himself, trying to hide himself from this ugly terrible place and all the angry voices in it.

Gambit pounded again. "Open de door, Kim, or Gambit's gonna blow it down!"

Fallen stirred and woke from all the noise. She was still groggy from the sedative and totally clueless. "What's going on?" She heard Gambit's pounding and unlocked the door with a mental command. He burst inside in a rush with Henry behind him. "What's going on?" Fallen repeated.

"Maylee's all scared. Kimble done sumptin' she won't say," Gambit explained without accusing, being very careful about his tone of voice. He could see Kimble turned away in the corner looking like a child who'd already been punished. The sight of it made him feel sick and he started to approach Kimble in an attempt to help him, but Henry held him back. Remy relented, giving Beast first crack at comforting the poor stricken Siskan.

Henry went close to Kimble and lightly touched his shoulder. "Kimble?"

"I done whatcha said..." Kimble said from under his wings. His voice was scratchy and strained, his teeth gritted tightly. "All I done wuz make it worse. She said things that ain't true...She said I wanna kill my brother. She said...!" he couldn't finish because of the sob in his throat.

Henry patted his shoulder. "It's all right. At least you tried. Give it some time and try again later."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Fallen demanded.

"Maylee and Kimble are having some difficulties," Beast replied, turning to look at her.

Fallen laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time." She looked up at Logan as he came to the door, her smile fading when she saw his hostility, he was clearly furious at Kimble. "Maybe you should just leave him with me," she suggested, a little authority now in her voice. "I'll take care of this."

"Yer boy's gotta watch his mouth. How can he be yer Second when all he does is fight and cause trouble?" Logan complained harshly.

"I find it hard to believe that all of this is his fault alone, but I assure you, I will find out. Now, leave us. All of you."

"I'm not sure any of us should be alone with him. He's a fucked up mess."

Fallen just snorted at him contemptuously. "Get out!"

The others walked out at that, but Wolverine stayed behind. "He can't be trusted."

"Please, continue to insult him while he's still in the room," she said sarcastically. "Get out or I'll remove you myself!"

"Yeah, right," he grunted arrogantly but then he startled when he felt her telekinesis shove him briskly towards the door. She was obviously getting better and stronger. He glared at her and walked out, being sure to leave the door open behind him.

Fallen waited until she was sure he was gone and then looked at Kimble in the corner. "Hey, you. Troublemaker," she teased.

He ignored her.

"Kimble Bee..." It was what she called him when he was upset or behaving regressed like he was now. It never failed to make him laugh.

He flattened himself against the wall, pulling one of his wings back and turning his head to look at her. "What."

She saw Kimble's reddened eyes and the obvious strain on his nerves. She could tell he was exhausted and needed to sleep. He was always crabby and irritable when he was tired and she figured that was part of his problem. "C'mere."

Kimble glanced up at his brother on the screen. Seth had been quiet all this time and was looking at Kimble now with a combination of uncertainty, fear and distrust on his face. "Don' think that's such a good idea right now," Kimble said, putting his head down again. He was wiped out and just wanted to lay down someplace quiet. Preferably far, far away from here.

"Tell me what happened, then."

"May...she wuz thinkin' I wants ta hurt yous guys. She said alla this wuz my fault an' I done it on purpose ta gits out. She said...she said I wanna kill Seth an take ya fer myself...I--I wouldn't ever hurt you," he said looking up at Seth, his eyes pleading. "Yer my brother. I couldn't--I wouldn't!"

Seth sighed and relaxed. He'd never seen Kimble so angry and distressed before and it had frightened him badly, Kimble was his foundation, the one who took care of everyone. What would happen to them if Kimble fell down? Now that he knew why his brother was so upset, he might be able to help out. Seth didn't believe Maylee for a minute, Kimble just wasn't capable of that kind of treachery. "**Tay kunda Siska esk, ratay a nooroo**, Kimble. Don't worry. I'll go talk to her," he said gently and winked out.

"She's just a kid and she's frightened, Kimble. Don't be too hard on her," Fallen added.

"She hates me. Everybody hates me!" he whined like a child.

"Nobody hates you. C'mere." She held her arms out and this time he slowly crawled over to her. She lay him down next to her under the blankets and held him. "You need to sleep."

"I ain't tired..." he protested, his eyes heavy. Her heat and Ristle trickled into him, soothing him. Her arms were finally around him, giving him the comfort he so desperately needed. She kissed him and he felt her love come into him like a gentle comforting wave. He hadn't realized just how badly he'd needed her to hold him like this. All of his anger and pain melted away and he finally relaxed, resting his head against her neck. He breathed in her smell, loving her, and closed his eyes. He started to say something else, but was asleep before he could finish.

She felt him drop off and smiled to herself. She was still woozy from the sedative and the heat from his body was making her drowsy. It wasn't long before she too was back asleep again, warm and cozy beside him.


	10. Chapter 10

(Ten)

Seth found Maylee curled up on the bed in the workshop. She had wrapped the blankets around herself and was hiding under them as she cried.

"May?" Seth called.

"Go away!"

"Not a chance, girl. It's me. Seth. Come on out and talk to me."

She peeked her head out, winking her cat's eyes at him as she sought him out. When she saw it was him and no one else, she relaxed. "Where's Kimble?"

"He's upstairs with Fallen. She'll keep an eye on him."

Maylee sniffed and wiped her eyes. "He shouldn't be alone with her. He might try something and take her away from you." She sniffed. "I see the way he looks at her."

"He loves her as I do. He wouldn't do anything to harm her. I know he's a little wrecked right now, but he'll be okay. I promise."

"He's scary. Not nice like you. I wish you were here instead of him."

"That's really what's bothering you, isn't it? C'mere." He put his hands up to the screen and waited for her. She got up, taking the blankets with her and went to him. She put her tiny clawed hands over his on the screen and smiled. "It's okay," Seth continued. "I know how you feel, May. I want to be out there, too. Now more than ever. But...but it's not fair to punish Kimble for something he had no control over. Fallen tried to blow us up. I made Kimble go to save her. It was the only logical choice. I can't control the hologram that well. She would have died, May. I can't regret what happened because of that. I won't. Let it go."

"It's not fair!"

"No. No, it isn't. But that's how things are sometimes. Just don't give up hope, May. Maybe we can fix this later. I'll never give up hope. Remember, no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you and Fallen. Always."

"And what if he does something to you? He's scary now. All he does is yell and fight."

"That's just Kimble being Kimble. He's still trying to feel his way around. He's surrounded by fighters up there. Soldiers. He's the weakest one. He probably figures that if he acts tough, they'll respect him more. He doesn't have it too easy right now. He doesn't need hard words and false accusations on top of it."

"I'm sorry..." She put her head down.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, May."


	11. Chapter 11

(Eleven)

Kimble woke slowly. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, only that he'd slept without the nightmare for the first time since he'd been separated from the system. Fallen was awake and still holding him, petting him gently. He sniffed and looked up at her. "Hey."

She laughed and kissed him. "Hey. And you do snore, by the way," she teased.

"No I don't," he grunted with a laugh, playing the game. He rubbed his cheek against her and felt her Ristle trickle into him. "Ya needs a shot."

"I don't want it all. It's making me too sleepy. Just give me half."

"Ya shure?"

"I'll be okay."

He got up stiffly and stretched, loosening up and feeling much better. He went to the vanity and prepared her injection. He watched her as she came next to him, she did seem better herself since the accident, maybe because she'd slept so much. She wasn't having nightmares like he was. "Ya hungry?"

"Yeah. I promise not to barf this time," she joked wryly.

"S' okay, baby doll. Jus' aim fer Vally next time, is all."

He gave her the shot and they wandered out to the galley, they could hear that everyone was gathered inside. Henry was playing chess with Seth and Maylee was having a snack. Wolverine and Gambit were fooling around, sparring.

Kimble sat Fallen on a bench and began to prepare her a meal. He glanced at Maylee. She gave him a small smile and he nodded at her with a short laugh. It wasn't the same as a real apology, but it would do for now. He leaned against the counter and watched Wolverine and Gambit play.

Wolverine snatched at Remy with his hands but caught only air.

"You sure are slow, old man," Remy teased, his eyes merry.

"I'm fast enough fer you, Cajun, don't you worry."

They dodged and parried, Logan never quite gaining on Gambit. The boy was just too damn fast and slippery as an eel, impossible to pin down for long. No matter, he'd just wear him down as always, Logan was nothing if not relentless. Logan noticed Kimble's obvious interest in their game and grew uncomfortable, remembering about Kimble's near perfect memory. It just wouldn't do to have Kimble sneaking lessons on how to fight on the side like this. Best to end this quickly.

Gambit bobbed and weaved, but Wolverine ensnared him with a sudden surge of animal speed. He spun Remy around and lay him backwards over his knee, popping his claws at the poor thief's throat. It looked like they were dancing a tango. "Bang, yer dead, Gumbo," he grunted with a laugh.

Remy had no fear, but relaxed into Logan's embrace with all the ease of a long time lover. "Well, dis sure is cozy, but Gambit usually gets dinner an a movie first, cher." He batted his long lashes upwards and blew Logan a kiss.

"Humph," Logan snorted and dumped Gambit rudely onto the floor with a smile. He went over to the table and sat across from Fallen.

Gambit stood and dusted himself off. He winked at Kimble in greeting and sat at the table. He took out his cards and began to shuffle, once more showing off by doing it quick and fancy. Without asking, he dealt out a hand to everyone, making sure to include Kimble. He could see Kimble had slept and looked much better, calmer, and he wanted nothing more than to hear Kimble laugh again.

Kimble grinned when he saw he would be included and picked up his cards, intrigued. He looked at them and arranged them automatically without a clue of what to do. He was happy just to play.

Fallen grinned at Remy sheepishly. "It's been a long time..."

Gambit named the game, Five Card Stud, and read off the rules. They began to play. Kimble didn't need to be reminded as he played, he learned this as quickly as everything else. His spirits had brightened considerably and it showed.

Henry leaned over and watched them play. "This is going to be a long trip. Gambit will have won all your money by the time we land, I'm sure."

Fallen smiled warmly at him. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you get home, Dr. McCoy?"

"Hmm. Tough question. I suppose what I'd love most to do is to take a quick run down to Harry's for a nice cold beer and a pizza."

"Amen ta that," Logan growled and lay his hand down. He'd won the round. He grinned at Remy and chuckled.

"What's pizza?" Kimble wanted to know.

"Well, where Twinkies are golden slices of Heaven, I'd say pizza is the food of the Gods. Ah, yes, Anchovies, here I come!" Beast said dreamily.

"No way!" Fallen exclaimed. "Mushrooms and green peppers all the way."

"Sheesh, what a buncha babies," Logan grumbled. "The only way ta eat a pizza is with sausage, pepperoni, and salami smothered with onions."

"Not if you want to be sociable, my friend," Henry replied with a smile.

"Ain't never been much of a problem fer me."

"Does this mean your healing factor works against onions?" Fallen teased.

Logan grinned. "On the way in or the way out?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know," Henry complained, rolling his eyes. "He can peel the wallpaper off the bathroom walls just like the rest of us, my dear. Don't let him kid you."

"So what are you going to do when you get home, Logan?" Fallen asked as she laughed.

"Prob'ly wipe the dust off my Harley and take a spin down the back roads. It's been a long time since I took her out."

"What's a Harley?" Kimble asked, lost. He felt left out because he had no idea what they were talking about.

"It's a two wheeled motorized vehicle. You'd love it," Fallen answered. "What about you, Remy? What are you going to do when you get home?"

Gambit dealt the next hand. "I'd go down to Lucy's on de corner, pick up some nice fresh chicken, some spices. Cook up some nice Creole chicken. Light some candles. Bottle of wine. Set Rogue up nice an' fine. She like dat Ben an' Jerry's ice cream, too. Chunky Monkey. Gonna feed my girl an' den mebbe we make some good use of de loft in de barn, bien?"

"How kin ya do that if ya can't touch her right?" Kimble asked innocently, forgetting that young Maylee was sitting there among them.

Gambit just grinned. "Ancient Cajun secret."

Kimble cocked his head in confusion.

Henry just laughed. "Gambit here has invested in several large latex companies. He's doing quite well, I hear."

Fallen and Logan laughed at Henry's joke, but Kimble didn't get it. He had no idea what latex was. Fallen saw his confusion and spoke to him in Siskan, rolling her eyes suggestively as she explained what a condom was and how it was used. Instead of laughing, Kimble looked a little sad, genuinely dismayed at the thought of anything that would come between a man and his pleasure in that way. The idea of not making full bodied contact with a lover was disappointing and made him feel sorry for Remy. "That sucks."

"C'est bien, Kim. Gambit gets by just fine, don't you worry," Remy said with a grin. "It's a lot more fun den it sounds. I'm a t'eif, comprenez? Stealin' it makes it more excitin'."

Henry cleared his throat, wanting to change the subject. "What about you, Maylee? What would you like to do?"

"I don't know. I'd like to keep up my medical training. It's the only thing I really like."

"She doesn't get out much," Fallen said. "I hope there's some kids her age at the house."

"It would be my pleasure to continue training you," Henry replied. "I was impressed at how well you handled Gambit's injury."

"You guys gonna hang around that long?" Logan asked.

"I don't know. I'm not sure what we'll be doing," Fallen replied evasively.

"Gots ta git Seth out," Kimble said softly, saying what he knew was on her mind. He looked up at his brother on the screen and their eyes locked with silent understanding.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance there," Henry offered.

"First we gotta get home," Logan said. He wasn't taken with the idea of having more Siskans on the loose. His experiences with Kimble's inability to maintain control wasn't a shining endorsement for Siskan liberation.

"What would you like to do, Fallen, when we get home?" Henry asked.

"I don't know. I think I'd like to go to the beach. It's been years since I've seen the ocean. I miss it. I miss the way it smells."

Henry cocked his head at Kimble. "And you?"

Gambit laughed. "P'etetre, it not so good to ask wit de kid 'ere, n'est ce pas?"

Kimble snickered. "Actually, I'd likes ta go outside. I mean really outside, not jus' outta the ship. I wants ta see a real sunrise, not jus' one on a computer screen." He closed his eyes. "I miss the orange an' red. 'Specially the red. I jus' love red."

Gambit nodded at Logan. The red. That's why Kimble locked onto the cards.

"What's so special 'bout red?" Logan asked.

"Cuz it's hot," Kimble replied. "I likes anathin' hot."

"Hot things'll burn ya, kid."

"Some risks're worth takin', I guess. I ain't scared. I wants ta try new things. I cain't wait. I wants ta try anchovies an' onions an' Creole chicken an' a Harley an' Chunky Monkey, too--whatever th' fuck that is," he ended with a laugh. "I wants ta see it all."

"Don't you worry, Kimble," Henry replied. "There's much to see and to do on Earth. I'm sure you will enjoy yourself."

"Just so long as ya stay outta trouble," Logan growled, setting the tone that would define their relationship forever.

Kimble put his head down submissively and looked at his cards, saying nothing. He felt Logan's dislike for him as if he'd been struck silently. His smile was gone and he really didn't feel like playing anymore. He set his cards down and got up. "Gots work ta do. Engines ain't gonna fix themselves," he mumbled and walked out, heading back to the Engine Room.

"Why do you do that?" Seth asked Logan, his face turned down with a pout.

"Do what."

"Shut him down."

"I ain't shuttin' nobody down. That boy's gotta control problem. Just makin' sure he stays with the program."

"Well, you don't have to be so mean about it," Seth complained. "I'm going down to help him." Seth clicked off.

"Yer Siskans're pretty sensitive," Logan said to Fallen, feeling a little guilty.

"They're not used to bullies," Fallen quipped, not so thrilled with Logan herself right now

"With Valentin around? Find that hard to believe."

"Yeah, well, he couldn't hurt them like you can," she said, rising.

"That ain't so true anymore. Vally's got an eye on your Kimble. Your boy best be careful."

"I can handle Valentin just fine," Fallen said as she went to follow Kimble. "I can handle you, too, don't worry. Good morrow, people," she finished arrogantly and walked out.

"Well, dat was smooth," Remy said as he collected his cards. "You gonna alienate de rest of us too b'fore we get home?"

"Just lookin' out fer us, that's all. If you can't handle that, too bad."

"You don' need to be comin' down on everyone so 'ard, patron. We used to it, dey ain't. You gotta chill out," Gambit complained.

"I'll chill out when we're all back home. 'Til then, I'm keepin' watch."

"If you keep pushing Kimble, you could cause him to react violently against you," Henry cautioned. "Obviously he sees you as a peer and a challenge. Why don't you try working with him instead of against him? If your opinion of him matters that much to him, your help could go a long way towards him maintaining his control. If he's fighting against both you and Valentin, he could snap."

Logan nodded silently, not really wanting to argue. He got up and walked out. He took Gambit's position on the front row of the passenger seats, looking like he was on guard duty but really sitting here to brood. He lay back comfortably and was quiet.

Maybe he was being a little hard, but that was just his way. A lifetime of military training and having most of your friends being ex-war buddies tended to do that to a person. Logan was just in the habit of being gruff and didn't really know any other way to be. Besides, Kimble's reckless temper and inability to control his childish emotions rankled his nerves. Logan had spent most of his years under the care of Professor Xavier trying to control his own wayward rages. His tight emotional control was the only thing that kept that in check. He'd made excellent progress and so had trouble tolerating anyone who failed where he had achieved so much. He didn't think Kimble was making enough of an effort to stay in line.

Wolverine relaxed and closed his eyes, not wanting to think about Kimble anymore. He didn't realize just how tired he was, just a few moments later he nodded off and quietly dozed.


	12. Chapter 12

(Twelve)

"He's asleep," Bruce whispered quietly and stepped away from the door. He went back to his spot on Valentin's bed and picked up his cards. The Clansmen, too, were playing a card game to pass the time. Well, two of them were. Joseph was working.

"How's it coming?" Valentin asked him.

Joseph was kneeling on the floor beside the General. He had his hands on the base of the iron bed leg where it was fastened to the floor. He was grunting softly and sweat dripped from his forehead to the floor. "Slowly, Master. This will take some time."

"Faster, then."

"My Lord. My power isn't that great, you know that. I was never good enough for the alpha team."

Joseph was the son of a pilot and mildly telekinetic. Emphasis on mild. He couldn't fly. He couldn't make Ristle or protective shields. What he could do was move objects with his mind if he concentrated hard enough. Most of the time he did it to amuse his friends while drinking. He would spin beer mugs or move their chairs so they'd fall onto their drunken ass while he busted up laughing. Now he was using his meager power to loosen the bolts that held the beds to the floor. The idea being that if they could remove enough bed legs without getting caught, they could be used as weapons if they had the opportunity to escape.

Joseph felt a sharp lance of pain stab through his brain. He grunted again, but the bolt came free. He leaned against the bed, exhausted. "I can do it, but it won't be today. This is taking too long."

Seth came up on the viewing screen suddenly. "Hey, guys."

Joseph almost dropped the bolt in surprise and swore silently. He should be getting used to this by now. Seth made a habit of checking in on them. He would pop up at irregular intervals hoping to catch them if they were up to something. So far, Seth had no idea what Joseph was doing. Joseph stood awkwardly and smoothed out his laces as if he'd only been tying up his boots. He sat down on the next bed and said nothing, that was Valentin's job.

"Freak," Valentin snarled to the young pilot on the screen. His voice was much more nasal and gravelly after Logan's latest adjustment to his face.

Seth was nonplused at the insult, he was here to work. "You guys want anything? I can have Henry bring you something from the galley." The Clansmen would no longer be allowed to eat in the galley, Logan's orders. It just wasn't worth the risk of another fight.

"We're fine, thanks. Maybe in an hour," Bruce suggested helpfully, just wanting the kid gone.

"All right. I'll check back," Seth said and clicked off.

Joseph rubbed his eyes. "That was too close."

"Get back to work," Valentin ordered gruffly.

"Yes, my Lord."

Joseph returned to the floor. He lay his hands on the next bolt. He closed his eyes. Half an hour later...another lance of pain, another loose bolt in his grip. Only ten more to go, four to each leg, two free already. A drop of blood fell from his nose. He ignored it and kept at it. Yeah, tomorrow definitely. Then he could work on the light strip that was the security screen to the door. Piece of cake.

To be continued in Breaking Point.


End file.
